As less invasive medical techniques and procedures become more widespread, medical professionals, such as surgeons, may employ snake-like robotic systems having highly articulated multi-link probes to access parts of the human anatomy that were otherwise difficult to reach. With the use of such robotic systems, medical professionals may be able to replace open-cavity surgical procedures with less invasive procedures.
Robotic systems of the type described above may have multiple device channels, referred to as working channels, for guiding a variety of surgical and/or interventional tools during surgical procedures. Conventional articulating probes, which generally comprise a series of steerable links, are subject to twisting, from link to link, which can adversely affect the performance of the articulating probe.